Onyii & Co. Exemplifies Diverse Style and Resilient Spirit
Onyii Brown started her clothing company at her kitchen table with $125 and a wrap skirt. Three years later, Onyii & Co. was featured in British Vogue’s March 2016 issue and showed its second spring collection at AMCONY Fashion Week this month.
“I’m getting better and just want to make beautiful clothing for women,” said Brown.
One can feel Brown’s fortitude in her vivacious, bold pieces. Wide-leg pants, bell-sleeves, strong necklines, peplums and accentuated waistlines lend power to the women wearing them. The unique color and pattern combinations reflect women who travel often and embrace diverse cultures.
For spring, Brown fused fabrics from her Nigerian roots with Japanese-inspired florals. “The beauty of the [Japanese] culture was so rich,” she said.
Some of the wide skirts and sleeves look heavy, but cotton and linen make the pieces light and breathable. “[They’re] also pieces you can just throw on, separates you can mix and match,” she said.
Brown finds the strength to pursue fashion design through her faith and supportive family. “I believe God led me through this whole process,” she said.
“The love of God in her is what motivates her, propels her to do what she’s doing.”
Her mother, Dr. Rose Ihedigbo, beamed as she watched her daughter on the red carpet. “I’m so proud of her!” she said.
Ihedigbo wrote the book Sandals in the Snow, which tells of their family’s emigration from Nigeria, wearing sandals as they took their first steps on frozen New York ground. Ihedigbo and her husband worked part-time while earning their degrees and founded the Nigerian American Technological and Agricultural College to advocate education in their home country.
“I encourage and motivate my children to achieve,” said Ihedigbo.
All five children carried on their parents’ legacy and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Brown’s youngest brother, James Ihedigbo is an NFL safety and founded HOPE Africa Foundation.
“My father’s story is so amazing to come from where he did,” said Brown in a Boston Globe article, “we have to be the way that we are because [otherwise] it would be disrespectful to everything he has done and worked for to both of my parents.”
Ihedigbo says her daughter’s individuality comes from her inner beauty. “The love of God in her is what motivates her, propels her to do what she’s doing,” she said. “She’s a wonderful woman, beautiful inside and beautiful outside.”
